Koda Kumi
Koda Kumi is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Kyoto, Japan who is best known internationally for singing the Japanese theme songs of Final Fantasy X 2. She began with a rather demure image, though with her gain in popularity she began to become a sex symbol. She can be considered something of a Japanese Britney Spears or Rihanna.
Amazingly enough, though she's only been in the mainstream since about 2000, she has released nearly fifty singles and nine studio albums (if you don't count her collaborations, remixes, and Greatest Hits albums, of which there are ten.)
In addition to her work in the music industry, she's also very influential on Japanese fashion trends. Apparently she's responsible for the ero-kawaii style. Her younger sister Misono (stylized as misono) is also a pop star. You may know her from the band Day After Tomorrow, who did the theme song for Tales of Symphonia.
She's currently engaged to the lead singer of BACK-ON and is pregnant. It is unknown if this will affect her sexy image in any way.
Her albums include:
- Affection (2002)
- Grow Into One (2003)
- Feel My Mind (2004)
- Secret (2005)
- Best: First Things (2005), her first greatest hits album
- Best: Second Session (2006), her second greatest hits album.
- Koda Kumi Remix Album (2006), which is nothing but remixes of songs from Second Session
- Black Cherry (2006)
- Best: Bounce & Lovers (2007), a collection of love songs and ballads
- Kingdom (2008)
- Trick (2009)
- Out Works & Collaboration Best (2009)
- Koda Kumi Driving Hit's (2009), another remix album
- Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 2 (2010), yet another remix album
- Best: Third Universe (2010), her third greatest hits album, which was a tie-in with...
- Universe (2010)
- Eternity: Love & Songs (2010), a Cover Album
- Dejavu (2011)
- Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3 (2011), Remixes, again. But let's be honest, fans lap it up.
- Japonesque (2012)
Tropes that apply to Koda Kumi and her music:
- AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle - Well... she's Japanese.
- Auto-Tune
- Award Bait Song - All of her Power Ballads.
- Bare Your Midriff - Of course.
- Boastful Rap
- Cover Album - Eternity: Love & Songs
- Dye Hard
- Even the Girls Want Her - Look at ANY of her lives, or in any number of her PVs where she can be seen getting VERY friendly with other females.
- Erotic Eating - THIS.
- Fan Service - She's given lap dances and serenades to audiences members brought up on stage.
- Follow the Leader - Also, some of her songs sound suspiciously similar to some American hits. 'Puppy' sounds exactly like Rihanna's 'SOS' and 'You're So Beautiful' sounds like Jordin Sparks's 'Tattoo.' To be fair, this is hardly her fault (she had nothing to do with Puppy's production nor You're So Beautiful's music), but still.
- Girl-On-Girl Is Hot - Music videos for "But" and "Taboo" come to mind, her live performances often involve dry humping/groping of female & male dancers.
- Good Bad Girl - She is a total cutie in public and interviews. Her music, videos and performances say otherwise.
- Gratuitous English
- Greatest Hits Album - Has more than you'd think she should.
- Guy-On-Guy Is Hot - "Ima Sugu Hoshii" features one man snaking up another, "Taboo" features her male love interest kissing a guy after he catches Kumi with girls.
- Hotter and Sexier
- Impossibly Cool Clothes
- Intercourse with You - Has at least one per album anymore. Special mention goes to Ima Sugu Hoshii (lit. I Want It Right Now), which doesn't even try to convince you that it's anything else.
- Japanese Pop Music
- Japanese Ranguage - Incredibly guilty of this, especially in her cover of A Whole New World. Coincides with Gratuitous English.
- Kansai Regional Accent - Well, she is from Kyoto. (Boa commented on her accent as being very "strong" during a television interview.)
- Kimono Fanservice the cover of her latest album , JAPONESQUE
- Kimono Is Traditional - The video for "Aisho" features Kumi in a Kimono, as have many promotional photos. She also a special feature, in which she wore a montage of Kimono.
- Let's Duet - Peabo Bryson, Tatsuya Ishii and Boa among others.
- Lighter and Softer
- Mood Whiplash - On Black Cherry, the change from Juicy to Candle Light is so jarring that you almost can't help but laugh.
- Me Love You Long Time
- Motor Mouth - she speaks incredibly fast.
- Nice Hat - Pirate hats, flight attendant chapeaus, you name it, she's worn it.
- Panty Shot - The cover for Second Session.
- Peacock Girl - The video for "Show Girl".
- Playing to The Fetishes - This is pretty much what she's famous for.
- Power Ballad - At least three per album.
- Pretty in Mink - During her "Kingdom" tour she actually, JUMPED up and down, and danced around whilst singing in a gianormous fur coat.
- The coat in the video for "Showgirl".
- She Cleans Up Nicely - A theme of the "Bambi" music video.
- Smoking Is Glamorous - The video for "Aisho" (Love Proof).
- Showgirl Skirt: A pink feather one for her "Trick" tour.
- Stage Names - Born 神田 來未子 (Koda Kumiko) but is branded as 倖田 來未 (Koda Kumi), changing Kanji in her Family Name and shortening her Given Name.
- Surprise Pregnancy: She announced that she was pregnant a few days after she said she was getting married to BACK-ON's Kenji03. It was probably a Shotgun Wedding.
- Stripperiffic - What did you expect from the Japanese Britney Spears? And then there's this (WARNING: Not Safe for Work)
- Three Minutes of Writhing - Her PVs or her lives, constantly.
- Translated Cover Version - Her version of Kelly Clarkson's Can We Go Back.
- Woman Scorned
- Yaoi Fangirl - Again - "Taboo" & "Ima Sugu Hoshii" video clips. Her expression to witnessing boy on boy action is priceless.
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